New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-21
BOOKS AND BOOKMEN.
iR. ANDREW Lang AS WRliEn oN DiDAi


VI 1850, The American. edition has not beeI
procnrabie here liz the present volume the essay
N, Rock BtndiuC and Bookmen at Rome. whicl
made part of the American issue. arc dropped-w
are not allowed TO know why-and arc replaced u,
Ola French Title Pages aud Lady Book-Lovers IN
former is but slight performance, the latter al
epitorne. also slight of NJ. Quentin Baucharrs lie
Fsmnes BibliOphes de France" an elaborate. 10
TO say ponderons trestise on the whole SUBJECT IL
two volumes grand in-8 Jesus" to nse the sihquia
French description.
Mr. Lang az a writer on books Is SO good .na' ~
oueht 10 be better His knowledge is varied HI
chat about photography Is easy anu ch"i n'"s' W
has the sensibites. affections. instincts OF rover
of hooks: he has almost everything but put accu'
r.ev This the fates denied him, and in their Iron
ic,l way decreed that this carelessrindcd man
should discourse OF subjects wherein accuracy ID
the essence OF the whole business. Mr. Lang warns
us against taking him his subjects too seriously
and he is right But il s not necessary to be DOCTOR
Of Divinity ia order to get date right lie pours
out facts with profnsion that would be delightful
If one could always be SURE they were facts fer-
haps this incuria is not Mr.. Langs fault 1t 10 tho
fault of his M lieu of the atmosphere and company
In which he lives. Englishmen have seldom been
good photographers. The dreadful DibdiD, The
sloyenly "Lowndes." Bohn's "Lowndes.' Surtons
sellers cat .loguos Messrs. Solheby's catalogues
all those and many more bear witness to the want
Of precision In tho English mind when 1t comes to
deal with books Mr. Eiiis's catalogue of the Hath
Library, perhaps the most prctentious OF modern
book list offers melancholy examples
OF this depravity.
Mr. Lang writes of BibliOmanis in France: he ~
q French scholar; he collects French books; he
shares with the French tho taste for Elzevirs: he
has read French books about books; he turns over
daily aud nightly. doubt moi. French catalogues;
he Is not unfamiliar with the great names OF
Bruret of Potier. of Fontalne. OF Norgaud. or
Cohen and many more. They have taught him
much. but he did not learn his alphabet of them
They did not lay the foundation of his education
in the noble science-or. If you prefer. mystery
OF photography. He has. however, it is pleasure
to say, improved under their friendly tuition. aud
absorbed something Of their spirit These
latest essays are less inexact than the
little volume he entitled " rbe Library"
published in 1881; treatise in which veracity is
TOO often sacrificed to the impulses OF neGieenes or
even imperfect knowledge. Dir. Lang would not
now, hope tell the ingenious reader hat ali the
Kings Of France had been amateurs of books OF
speak of "a" NJ. Van Praet, or adopt Mr.. Hill
Burton's .comical cdtegories OF collectors. with
such remarkable species as old Drown calf cover aud
marbled insiders. He would not surely name
Sinner, OF Bozerlan, or Thouveuin, as eminent
binders He has passed the stage when 1t was pos
s,ble for HIN to say that uader tho head of large
paper perhaps uncut copies should be enioned.'
He has learnt that an Eizevir may he valuable
though neither clean nor large III the margins
his favorite "Le Pastsser Francals." for instance;
when is scarce enough to fetch great pnce
though very short" The advance in Sir. LanGs
A. g Ia
by any one who Will compare the horrible Lucanus
facing page sixty-three of the Library with the
fac-simile Of a binding from the collection OF
GroIier at page 100 of " Books and BookmeD y;
second rate even the latter is
Elzeyirs are a favOrite topic with Mr.. Lang and
his first essay this present volume is devoted TO
thein ana is q good example of our authors fas-
cinations and Of his defects though of tie latter
the number rejoice to say, is not excessive; I'M
less single be, By the austere. deemed
excessive He gives. at any rate, some
useful and really excellent advice to the
beginner Some of it is pretty obviously derived
from experience. The libraries OF all collectors,
unless they have weeded their shelves. contain
monuments of their early mistakes. generally
good many Mr.. Lang now and then taxes us INTO
his confidence There hes on the table as wrlte'
SAYS he sadly lies Provincales, etc. Cologne,
IL
for such d. but the binder has cut down the margin
so that the words Les Provinclaies almost touch
the top of the page. Often the wretch-he lived,
Judging by his style, in Derome's time. before the
RevoIution-has sliced INTO the head-titles of the
pages" Then Of his zevir " DE lmitatione" he
writes: 81 wish by taking thought l could add
eight mimetres to the stature of nv copy" And
again: Il have Radicals of the good date with the
red title 1868, and some Of the pages have never
been opened at the sides But the height j. only some
122 rnillimetres. o mere dwarf" lie exposes these
wounds to the public 80 freely and IN such plain
hope of sympathy that no harsh remark on them IL
possible. Any hing over 100 millImetres. observes
Mr. Lang. is very rare presume he means to limit
this remark to the 1868 Rabelais II is even then
too strong, but he adds: Therefore the collector
of Elzevrs should have one Of those useful ivory
handled knives ON which the French measures are
Marked The incautious reader might understand
this to mean that any L zevlr over $50 miimetres
Is very rare. Purchases made on that theory would
not be good Investments
"Tne Elzevir edition of Les Provinciaies.
or what passes for SUCH" says Mr.
Larg IN one Of the passages l have
lust quoted. The reader would infer that there is
but one. 1t happens that Mir. Lang is here refer
rag to the right one, and the phrase =" or what
passes for such" is unlucky. The 1857 PRO
vincales" in 12mo. airing on the title Cologne,
Pierre de la Vales" was beyond question printed
Ut Amsterdam by Daniel Ezevlr. But elsewhere
Mr.. Lang has used the definite article in speaking
Of an edition which is not the right one at all.
"They used pseudonyms like Mic. Schouter on the
'Lettres Provinciales' of Pascal" The name is
variousiy given as Scaoute. Schouten and Schout-
ten. The number of Elzevir editions of Les
Provincisles" is at least six. There are two
l2mos of 1857. readily distingushable by tile
substitution of relgiear mend p. Sin the second
for moines maadiaas of the first. Fine copies are
rare, says Brunei. and proceeds In his satisfied
way to quote prices paid for them; not
,pe over 78 francs, or $I6. Within twenty years
quotations, II may use o commercial and there
fore barbarous term. had risen to the high-water
mark Of 1000 francs. or 5000; the sum for which
the Beuzon COPY cold Mr.. Lang who will have il